The Return of Leo
by lexieconextreme
Summary: Two weeks after the defeat of Gaea, Leo Valdez returns victorious with Calypso and Festus. Warning: rated for extreme fluff.


**A/N: Hullo! I've actually been thinking about Leo and Calypso's return since the end of Blood of Olympus, as I'm sure everyone else has. I hope this is adequate.**

 **Just so everyone knows, this is my first fic that has anything to do with any of Rick Riordan's books, so forgive me if the characters are a little off.**

 **Also, I don't know if Rick Riordan has already written Leo's return in another one of those little spin-off novels he writes (Demigod Diaries, Demigod Files, etc). If he has, sorry for the redundancy. I don't have Wifi at home right now, so I'm uploading stories while sitting outside a Starbucks. It also means I can't check to see if he's written this. I also can't remember if Nico told the others that Leo was still alive. I'll have to reread the Blood of Olympus if I get it for Christmas. Even so...**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes of Olympus or any of the characters within.**

Piper and Jason walked along the edges of the lake at Camp Half-Blood, both teens ignoring the flirting of the naiads below.

It had been two weeks since peace had been declared between the Romans and the Greeks. Their friends Reyna, Nico, and Coach Hedge had succeeded in returning the Athena Parthenos to the top of the hill, so that the old statue stood right next to Thalia's tree, where the daughter of Zeus had been imprisoned for eight years.

But also, two weeks since one of Piper and Jason's best friends had been killed. Leo Valdez had been killed in the explosion of the Argo II, the only benefit being that Octavian, the power crazed Roman centurion, had been killed as well.

Piper still missed the nervous fidgeting of the son of Hephaestus, his fingers always moving, always creating, even when he wasn't paying attention. The strange, distracted tapping that even Piper was able to recognize as Morse Code. Before, Piper had constantly wondered what it was Leo was tapping, though now she tried as hard as she could to stay away from thoughts of one of her best friends. One of the only two other demigods who had been with her since the beginning, since the moment Dylan the wind spirit had attacked her, Jason, and Leo at the Grand Canyon.

Usually, she kept busy to keep from thinking about it, though now Chiron had insisted that every half-blood present take a break day. Nobody was supposed to be working today. Every available nature spirit or satyr, every half-blood or anyone else had been working around the clock to build more cabins, or just repair the damage done by the Roman attack two weeks ago.

Actually, the now-friendly Romans had been helping take care of that. Back in New Rome, before the eidolon had taken control of Leo's body and started attacking the city, Jason had been showing Piper around. He'd told her that if they had to, Romans could take the city down in a shockingly short amount of time, and rebuild the entire thing in three days. It would take a lot of work, but it could be done. So it was no shocker that Camp Half-Blood would prove to be easier to rebuild than New Rome. Once the Romans had finished with the Big House and surrounding areas, they'd offered to help build the new cabins to the minor gods. Needless to say, with the Romans' help the building of new cabins had gone _very_ quickly. There were almost a hundred now, spread out in several new wings.

Piper glanced over at Jason, who also seemed to be deep in thought. He noticed her looking and smiled sadly, squeezing her hand gently. He missed Leo too. Exactly two weeks since the death of Leo Valdez, and it was most definitely not getting any better.

Piper and Jason started walking in the general direction of the cabins in comfortable silence, neither feeling the need to speak. As they walked, they passed near the practice arena, where quite a bit of shouting could be heard. Jason stopped to stare, then looked over at Piper. "What do you think's going on?" He asked.

Piper shrugged. "Let's see."

As they approached, the excited shouting got louder. Jason nudged his way through the rowdy half-bloods, keeping a tight hold on Piper's hand. They came through to the front, and Piper knew why everyone was so excited.

Two children of the war gods were fighting.

Clarisse LaRue and Frank Zhang were going at it quite hard, each soaked in sweat and swords still clanging against each other. Hazel Levesque, Frank's girlfriend, saw Piper and Jason and waved them over. Piper weaved her arm through Hazel's. "What's going on?" She asked, almost having to shout over everyone else. She watched as money changed quite a few people's hand, and she figured they were betting on the winner of the match.

Hazel's mouth quirked upward. "Clarisse wanted to know who was a better fighter, the daughter of Ares or the son Mars, both having had the blessings of their fathers placed upon them. Twice. They've been fighting for fifteen minutes now."

Jason's eyebrows went up and he whistled. "Fifteen minutes. Really? I know they're both good, but neither one of them is going to be able to keep going for much longer."

Hazel shook her head. "I know, but they don't seem to be showing any sign of stopping soon. I'm a little worried."

Piper smiled comfortingly. "Frank will be fine. Maybe Clarisse and he will wear each other out before somebody gets a chance to win."

As she spoke, Frank started slowing down. A warrior like Clarisse didn't miss it, and neither did the rest of the demigods. In half a moment, she'd realized what was happening. There. Frank's sword arm dropped and Clarisse lunged forward. Her sword went right toward his gut. Piper gasped and Hazel let out a strangled scream. They both leaped to their feet, but they needn't have bothered.

Frank brought his sword up quickly at the last moment, blocking the strike with the guard between the grip and the blade. Clarisse stared at him in shock a moment before Frank twisted his sword and Clarisse's was yanked out of her hand. The sword hit the ground, and Frank held his to her throat. It had been a trick.

Every demigod in the arena burst in cheers, and Piper realized she hadn't even noticed there had been silence before. Frank brought the sword away from Clarisse's throat, and she grinned at him. They shook hands, then Clarisse went into the crowd, probably to find her boyfriend. Frank turned back toward Hazel, Piper, and Jason with the biggest grin on his face.

Hazel rushed to him and gave him the biggest hug, while Jason and Piper returned his smile. The rest of the half-bloods, Greek and Roman, were leaving the practice arena. The only ones that didn't leave were Percy and Annabeth. They both came over and congratulated Frank on his victory.

"I would have thought Clarisse would get mad and threaten to kill you or something, after that win," Percy said cheerfully. "She did pretty much the same thing to me, my first summer here. Then I blasted her with toilet water, and now she hates me even more and everything turned out alright in the end."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I think he means watch your back, Frank. Though I don't think you'll have to. She honestly didn't look angry to me." Piper studied Annabeth, thinking her friend looked a little tired, maybe worried. She thought about how Annabeth had received a call from her father a few days ago, saying something about her missing cousin.

Frank laughed. "She wasn't. We agreed it was all in good fun, and curiosity. We wanted to know who'd win."

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the dinner horn. Percy looked relieved. He pumped his fist. "Finally! Dinner time! I'm starving."

Annabeth looked at him like he was nuts. "Why is that, Seaweed Brain? You had a big lunch, and it's not like you did anything to burn of the energy."

Percy shrugged. "Don't know. I _am_ a growing teenager, after all. Hey, maybe it was watching Frank. Or are you honestly going to tell me you don't feel exhausted after watching that fight?"

The daughter of Athena laughed, rolling her eyes. "Yes, Seaweed Brain. I am."

The group walked up to the pavilion, still joking and laughing. It felt pretty normal, though something was still missing. Piper could feel it, and she knew the others could too. Jason squeezed her hand.

Everyone sat at the long tables, no longer concerned with sitting at the table aligned with their godly parent. There just wasn't enough room for that. Everyone's favorite foods appeared before them on magic golden plates. But before eating, of course, the demigods all had to burn a portion of their food as an offering to the gods. Half-bloods crowded around the brazier, anxious to eat already. It seemed like everybody was hungry.

After the offering Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, and Hazel all sat at the table that used to be dedicated to the sons of Poseidon. Grover Underwood, a satyr and one of Percy's best friends, decided to join them.

Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, looking admittedly (and unashamedly) happy sitting next to Will Solace, a son of Apollo, nodded at Piper. She smiled back, then started paying attention to the conversation Frank and Jason were having. Apparently they were still trying to convince everyone that Aphros's brownies combined with Esther's preserves were actually delicious. Jason had already convinced Percy to take a bite, and the son of the sea god was busy gagging while Annabeth patted him on the back and tried to hold back giggles.

Dinner was filled with laughter, though sadness was still tangible in the air. After, the six demigods headed down to the beach before bed. All the others went to the campfire, and even from this distance, Piper could hear them all singing the silly campfire songs, as was customary.

They sat, talking quietly for a while. The moon was full, and it shone down brightly, reflecting off the calm water.

Piper stared out at the ocean, zoning out of the conversation. She had a good reason, too. There was something on the horizon. Something shining.

Piper got to her feet, trying to see further. Jason stood by her side, staring at her face. "What's up, Pipes?" He asked quietly.

She pointed, and the others gathered around to see what it was. The shining shape was slowly becoming bigger. The white moon light reflected off the growing shape with golden light. Piper looked at it.

"No way," she muttered. "There's no way. It can't be..."

The others stared too. They didn't know what it was. After all, they had never seen a large golden, mechanic (not to mention functional), dragon.

Not with it's body, and certainly never flying toward them at high speed carrying two human beings on it's back. She heard Jason's breath escape him, and Piper knew she was right.

It was Leo. He was _alive_. And he'd come home.

The first place Leo took Calypso was home. Not his home in Houston, or even his home at Camp Half-Blood. No, he took Calypso to her home. The small city of Split. Leo figured it was probably best to reintroduce Calypso to the modern world in small steps. He figured taking her straight to New York would give the girl a heart attack, so he figured Split was probably the best place to go first. After all, the world had changed quite a bit in a few thousand years.

Festus flew over the water quickly, and the cold wind roared in Leo's ears. Calypso's arms had wrapped gently around his waist, and it took all of Leo's willpower not to start dancing in his seat. Nope. Completely calm in front of the cool, pretty girl.

In the distance, Leo could see the faint lights of Split in the sky. He pointed this out to Calypso, and she simply smiled in anticipation. Ogygia had been nice, yes. But it was nothing compared to being stuck on an island for thousands of years. The started coming up, and the light washed over the ocean, letting Leo and Calypso have a clearer view of the town ahead. It was only a mile away now, and Festus slowed. He angled upward, hiding in a lower cloud. Even with the Mist hiding anything magical, you never quite new what the mortals might see. Leo directed Festus to land in a small park, and he did so quite gracefully. He lowered himself to the ground, and Leo and Calypso jumped off. The mortals didn't react, so maybe they thought Festus was just a really big pigeon or something.

Calypso stared around her in shock, turning in a circle on the spot. "It's changed so much," she murmured. Leo let her have a moment, then she turned back to him. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Calypso repeated. "Percy told me that there wasn't as much nature around anymore, I just didn't expect this."

Hesitantly, Leo reached forward and took her hand. "Manhattan in worse, though people still do what they can. There are National Parks, where it's forbidden to hunt or to cut down trees. People try, but this world has gotten more advanced. We don't have much to work with anymore."

Calypso looked at him sadly, squeezing his hand.

Leo tried for a smile. "So what do you wanna do next? We can stay here for a few days and explore, or we can head back to Camp Half-Blood."

She thought a moment. "I think I would like to stay here for few days, if that's alright with you."

"Right then! Let's go get something to eat!"

Calypso followed the son of Hephaestus down to the port of Split.

Leo and Calypso stayed in Split for almost a week before deciding to head toward Camp Half-Blood. They were careful about packing enough food for the voyage over the ocean. Festus wasn't a ship anymore, so he couldn't carry supplies like he used to. Plus, he was nowhere near as comfortable. During the time in Calypso's home town, Leo had been building a more comfortable seat for the ride. Festus would get them over the Atlantic in record time, but it would still take a while. Two days, at the least.(1) Two days was a long time to sit still on Festus's back. So Leo had designed a large, comfortable saddle that could be slipped on and off easily.(2)

Calypso had set the supplies for the journey in a neat pile near Festus while the two of them worked to get the saddle on the dragon's back. The harder part was getting the supplies on. Leo ended up handing the supplies up to Calypso, then she strapped them carefully to the saddle so they wouldn't fall. You know. With monsters and all. While no monsters had attacked he and Calypso here, he didn't know if that would still happen while they were out over the ocean. And if they were attacked, Leo didn't want to lose the supplies. Again with the Festus-is-no-longer-a-ship-and-it's-slightly-irritating thing.

Finally, everything was strapped in. Calypso climbed down, and she and Leo decided to go on one last walk around the town. Even after spending a week back in the world, the technology still surprised Calypso. Whenever she asked what something was, Leo explained it to her, though he tried to stay out of the technical terms.

Leo had no doubt that New York would shock Calypso even more. Finally, they made it back to the park. Leo helped Calypso up into the saddle, then told Festus where to take them.

"Camp Half-Blood, here we come."

Piper and Jason stared out to sea in shock. Festus the dragon was very definitely flying toward, and rather quickly at that. The others looked worried, and Piper realized they'd never seen Festus with his body before.

In quick excited words, Piper explained. She remembered that in the days before the Argo II had been destroyed, Leo had been spending a lot more time than usual in the engine room. A lot of the time, it had been Annabeth flying the ship.

And now, Festus flew toward them with Leo and someone else on his back. Leo was alive. The thought entered the minds of the other four demigods, and they all grew excited.

They stood, waiting impatiently for Festus to get close enough to land. Nico came out onto the beach, frowning. Piper looked at him in surprise.

"What are you doing here, Nico?" She asked.

He looked back at Piper, then over her shoulder. A small smile lit his features. "I think you know that already. Leo's coming. I felt his presence approaching, and thought I'd come see him."

Percy grinned, then pointed at the ever-approaching dragon. "He's almost here!"

The others all began jumping up and down, waving and shouting, with the exception of Nico, who watched amusedly.

The best part? Piper could hear Leo shouting back, which just made her more excited. She knew that the more sound they made, the more likely it was that every other demigod in camp would hear them too. But that was okay. Leo was back.

Finally Festus began to land. He sank to the ground, and Leo dismounted. He held out his hand, and a girl Piper didn't recognize came to the ground. Percy stopped, staring at the girl in shock. Annabeth stood by his side, looking at him worriedly, but Piper was much to excited to wonder what was going on.

She tackled Leo with a hug. Leo patted her back awkwardly. "What's up, McLean? Miss me?"

Piper backed up. She glared at him, fighting the urge to smack her friend. "What the heck, Leo?! Why didn't you tell us you were alive?! We thought you were dead!"

Leo looked at her sadly, and Piper noticed the girl take his hand in hers. He smiled. "Sorry I scared you, Pipes. But there was something I had to do."

Piper wiped angry tears from her eyes. "It's cool. Just don't ever do it again!"

The cocky grin returned. "You got it!" Jason rushed forward, nearly picking Leo up in bear hug. Piper turned back to look at Percy and Annabeth, looking around Hazel and Frank when they rushed forward to greet Leo too. Percy looked to be explaining something to Annabeth, who listened carefully. Percy looked upset, and it occurred to Piper that he might know the girl Leo had brought back with him. Finally, Percy and Annabeth approached. Annabeth held her boyfriend's hand tightly, and Percy looked like he might want to run away.

Nico literally came out of the shadows, scaring the bejeebies out of Piper. "Sorry," he apologized. They both tuned into the conversation.

Leo was introducing the girl. "Guys, this is Calypso. I brought her back from this island the gods trapped her on awhile ago."

Nico's face cleared, as if he understood something. Piper leaned into speak to him. "Do you know who she is?" Piper whispered.

Nico nodded. "You remember Odysseus from the Odyssey?" At Piper's nod, he continued. "The gods washed Odysseus up on the shore of an island called Ogygia. There he was taken care of by a nymph named Calypso, a daughter of Atlas. She was cursed for supporting her father in the first Titan War. Every hero the gods wash up on her shores, she is doomed to fall in love with. But that hero always has to leave in the end. Not one is one that can stay."

Piper's eyes widened. Nico glanced at her, still talking. "When the Labyrinth was discovered to still be in operation, Annabeth had to lead a quest down there to find Daedalus. There was a sort of explosion, and Percy was sent to Ogygia."

"Oh gods," Piper murmured. "No wonder Percy looks so freaked out."

Nico nodded. "And, as you've probably guessed, when Khione got rid of Leo, she sent him to Ogygia as well. Except Leo seems to have devised a way to get back and get Calypso off the island."

Piper laughed softly, watching Calypso take Leo's hand in the dark. "If anyone could, it would be Leo."

Percy stepped forward, Annabeth at his side. Piper could see the sadness and guilt on his face. Percy was upset with himself for not endeavoring to go back for Calypso himself.

"Hi Calypso."

The girl studied him, her timeless face emotionless. "Hello, Percy Jackson."

Percy swallowed, and Annabeth gripped his hand. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Leo looked sad, but Piper could see a small amount of anger in his eyes as well. "For what, Percy?" Calypso asked.

"For leaving you that island. I asked the gods to let you go, but I never made sure that they followed through."

Calypso considered the teen before her for a moment, then she smiled at him. "You are forgiven, Percy. Besides, if you hadn't left me, I might never have met this doofus here." she poked Leo playfully in the side, and Leo let out an indignant "Hey!"

Percy looked relieved, and Annabeth smiled. She held out her hand. "I'm Annabeth!" Calypso shook her hand, smiling. "This is Jason, Piper, and Nico from Camp Half-Blood. And this is Hazel and Frank from Camp Jupiter."

Calypso greeted them all. "And who's that?" She asked, nodding over Annabeth's shoulder.

They all turned, and Percy said, "Well...crap."

There stood Chiron, Argus, and a bunch of cleaning harpies, looking very hungry indeed.

 **A/N:**

 **1: Reference to the second book of "The Mysterious Benedict Society". In it, the fastest ship in the world covered the distance in two days. I figured Festus was at least that fast, if not faster.**

 **2: Ever seen "Avatar: The Last Airbender"? Picture the saddle Aang has for Appa, and you've got the general picture.**

 **I hope you all liked the story. Again, sorry if it's a little off. I haven't had ANY practice writing for this fandom.**

 **I hope you liked the ending! Thanks for reading, and have a good day!**

 **BYE ;3**


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